The Man-Mer of High Rock

The Bretons of High Rock are the most interesting race of Men, because of both their calmer nature than the other Men, and because of their very curious ancestry.

In appearance, Bretons are almost indistinguishable from the Imperials from Cyrodiil. They are slightly less muscular (especially compared to the Redgaurds and Nords) as they do not focus on combat. Instead, Bretons are known as philosophers, politicians, and craftsmen, and are regarded as some of the best battlemages in Tamriel. This position as expert mages is partially due to the calmer nature of the Bretons, which enables them to study more, and because of their stronger affinity to magicka, which is one of the remains of their Meric heritage. Along with this affinity to Magicka, they also have a noteworthy resistance to it, making them even more useful as mages.

The Bretons originate in High Rock. After parts of the Wanderers left, and the Nedes originated on Tamriel, the Aldmer came to High Rock. These elves interbred with the local, human populace, creating a Man-Mer ofshoot. These Man-Mer became second-class citizens to their Elven overlords, and served them. Eventually, during the conquest of High Rock by the kingdom of Skyrim, the elves were partially driven out. This also saw the creation of tension between the Bretons and the Nords, as the Bretons defended their Elven masters (unlike the Imperials, the Bretons never staged an uprising, as they were content with their position).

The religion of the Bretons was slightly different than that from other races of Men. However, they have switched to the Eight (originally) and Nine Divines in more recent times. During elven rule, the Bretons worshipped the Eight divines, along with some elven gods, like Magnus, Phynaster, and Y’ffre. Strangely, the Bretons are the only race of Men who held a negative relation with Lorkhan (or Sheor, as his Breton name was), calling him “the bad man”. This is most likely a characteristic given to him by the Elven rulers.

As stated earlier, Breton culture differs from that of the other races of Men in that they do not focus on the sword, but more on the word. Some of the most well known philosophers, advisors, and politicians (some Emperors were, indeed, Breton) are from High Rock. The Bretons are, however, also known for their opportunistic nature, as some of the most successful politicians and merchants are also Breton. Indeed, if a Breton is anywhere near a position to climb the social ladder, chances are he will take it. This is also because the Breton culture gives room for social mobility. High Rock used to have the probably the biggest nobility in all of Tamriel, mostly because of the many kingdoms that scattered the province, with the highest concentration around the Illiac Bay. This changed, however, after the Warp in the West, which caused the dozens of city states of the Iliac Bay area to be merged in four, three of which in High Rock (Wayrest, Daggerfall and Orsinium).

The history of the Bretons began with the Wanderers settling in High Rock, and changing in the Nedes. Somewhere around the change of the Merethic into the First Era, the Aldmer came to settle High Rock. Them seeing the Adamantine Tower (the oldest structure on Tamriel, linked to the Zero-Stone) possibly inspired the many races of elves to build the other Towers. The Aldmer installed themselves as the upper-class of High Rock, and made the local Nedes into second-class citizens (surprisingly, the Nedes did not become slaves, as opposed to their cousins in Cyrodiil). This relation the early Nedes, and later Bretons, had with Aldmeri culture is possibly what attributed to the very well developed Breton culture. Over the course of years, the Aldmer had interbred with the local Nedes, which created a mixed race, called the Bretons. Because the Bretons were content with the position they had in High Rock society, the Aldmer were spared during the retributions following the Night of Tears, which saw most of the Elves of Skyrim killed. This also attributed to the tensions between the Nords and Imperials on one side, and the Bretons on the other, as the Bretons were from that point onward regarded as Mer lovers. These tensions caused many skirmishes between the Bretons, and the Alessian Empire and the Nord Kingdom. Strangely, despite the Bretons not focusing on physical force, they were more than worthy adversaries of both the seasoned soldiers of the Alessian Empire, and the battle-hardened Nords. This is possibly due to the fact that Bretons are calm in nature, and because of that have better strategists. Even though their great strategists, they were eventually conquered by the Nordic Kingdom, which saw the end of Elven rule in High Rock. This lasted until the War of Succession, which saw the collapse of Nordic rule. Years late, High Rock was incorporated into the Septim Empire, which they would remain part of to at least 4E 201. In the late third era, the many kingdoms, once again, fell out with each other. A unnamed agent of the Blades was sent to try to resolve the situation, and to better the Empires influence in the region. Eventually the agent retrieved the Mantella and the Totem of Tiber Septim, used to activate the Numidium once again. At this moment, a Dragon Break took place in the region, which caused all major parties to attain the Mantella at the same time, causing the city states of Daggerfall, Sentinel (Hammerfell), Wayrest, Orsinium, and the Empire to be the only major parties left around the Illiac Bay. In just under two days, 44 kingdoms were destroyed, to make place for only four, all swearing fealty to the emperor. Even though this caused a time of prosperity in both High Rock and Hammerfell, it also saw the destruction of many landscapes and property, along with a major loss of life.